School is Done!

I wrote my last exam yesterday ... and school is done.

It feels so nice to not HAVE to do anything right now! It's also hard to believe that it's done ... my first year of science ... it's just been a big blur of business, ration, memory, assignments and flashcards.

So today, I'm organizing the place ... probably read a little bit, learn some German verb conjugations, and get some books out of the library on web programming ...

It's going to be a good summer!

The worst is over!

Two 3 hour tests today!! I've been eating flash cards and mathematics all weekend ... and now it's done!
Only one more test on Thursday, then I'm done the semester!! I can't wait ... biking, reading, practicing, jamming, learning German ...

Ali had her first day on the job this week, and she's really enjoying it - a good paying office job in a field she loves - Library Administration! She's really excited.

I was turned down for the research gig that I was looking forward to because the researcher didn't get the grants she wanted, and couldn't afford to hire me, but I got a call back the other day on a landscaping job that pays $15 to start, and hopefully, I will be able to do some research this fall with a lady in the Nutrition department.

So it's been a really good day ... we went out for dinner and were happy, watching the sun move towards setting.

Couldn't ask for more.

Ironic

Cats

We took Lina out the other day while we were studying outside ... she seemed to like it, but the leash was a bit of a restraint. We tied her to the picnic table as we were a little afraid she might run away. Since our cats are from the SPCA they were probably strays for some period of time:


Also, as one graduate present for Ali, we got a new Orange cat, which Ali has named Rilke:

End of School

I haven't posted in a while, I know ... I've been studying studying studying like a good little science student.

I have a physics exam tomorrow, genetics and chemistry on Monday and then Biology next Thursday!! And then I'm done.

And this summer ... so many plans!

I can practice. Ali will teach me German while I teach her jazz theory. I will make a website, study Einstein's theory of relativity, study classical music theory (I found a ton of scores at the thrift shop for really cheap - $15 for a foot high stack) and just generally do whatever I want!! It will be fabulous.

Just a little worried about work ... I still haven't heard back about research so I'm applying to work industrially, or at a hotel or restaurant or something ...

Ok, so New Easter didn't work so well

No, not this time around. The banks were too steep on the North Saskatchewan, and, well, the feminine side in me just wasn't quite as extreme as I seemed to think it was.

But, I did find a neat Buddhist quote on rebirth:

(Paraphrased):

If a candle exists, is extinguished and is lit again, is it not true that the first flame is the same as the second, having the same basic constituents?

Is it not also true that it is different?

I've made a few changes around here...

Well, I've decided to take on a new look for my new life.
After Easter, it is time to really come out and express myself- to express who I am and what I love. To start wearing those colors I adore, like pink, purple, violet, fuschia...you know, NICE colors. My beautiful girlfriend has been giving me fashion advice, and I know that together we can make a great new wardrobe for me. So, I thought I'd post a photo for you all to admire:



ta ta for now dahlings!

New Easter

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.

It's funny that, although I am not christian, I still feel an affinity for this holiday, like I do for Christmas, Thanksgiving. Our culture is so undeniably Christian based and yet many of us do not participate or rarely participate in the religion itself.

So this is what I propose: it's time for a new tradition. Like when the christians invaded "pagan" countries, and used their holidays to enunciate christian themes, it's time for us to use christian holidays to encorporate our own beliefs.

Originally, Easter was all about the rising of christ. A figure who sacrificed himself for the good of all people. A man or god or both who died and then rose again. Wikipedia defines easter sunday as:

"the Sunday of the Resurrection, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which his followers believe occurred on the third day after his death by crucifixion some time in the period AD 27 to 33"


This is what I propose:

Instead of allowing Easter Sunday to sink into the new religion of the free market, a time of candy eggs and consumerism, let us make this holiday more meaningful.

Tomorrow, I will launch a boat on the North Saskatchewan River. It will be a new beginning. We are reborn every second anyways, it can't be that hard. I will use this time to think about ways in which I can devote myself to peace and love in the world. Small ways, for these are the most important. Reduce my opinionist, one-sided view of things. Forgive those that hurt me deeply or otherwise. Work towards cooperation between all people, listening between all people, even if I strongly disagree.

Peace, of course, begins with the individual. We cannot expect peace in the world if we cannot keep it within our community.

Imagini

This is fun, and seems to hit pretty close to the mark!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Vegetarian Diet

A publication of the dalai lama's views on the environment was just published, and apparently he persuades people to try a vegetarian diet.

My chem professor has said something along the same lines. He says that in not too long, we'll probably all be vegetarians, and eating food processed from natural gas, because of the large, growing population coupled with global warming and the fact that it takes fewer resources to produce vegetables than meat. An interesting thought ... you can check out the press release of the dalai lama's book through his governmental web site:

http://www.tibet.com/NewsRoom/hhenvironment1.htm

Winter again

So it's been snowing again ... and I thought spring was here:


Oh well, at least we can use the tanning salon:

Irrational Science?

so I asked a question after my evolutionary biology lecture today:

"I was just wondering if you had a background in the Arts?"

"No, why"

"You just seem different than a lot of other scientists I have met, a little less purely rational."

"Are you saying I'm irrational?" (chuckles)

"No, just maybe more intuitive."

"Well, I try to teach these courses from your perspective as first year students. I think a lot of professors miss that, being caught up in advanced research, and just dole out definitions and formulas. I've done some advanced research, and it involves much more than a pure ability to memorize. A lot of students think that if they can memorize well, they can be scientists. That's not the case. Perhaps you could be a good technologist, but research involves many different qualities. I try to show that while teaching, I'm not just telling goofy stories for no reason, I try to bring life to the scientific process, which is actually very creative and involves more than just linear reasoning."

Now I want to be a scientist ...

Celebrating the Mundane

Ok, so I'm sitting in a cafe, and it's Sunday. It's a christian cafe on Sundays where christians sit around and chat. Today was also children's day, and they were playing Jesus Christ Superstar. Now, I find Andrew Lloyd Weber annoying, sort-of the wannabe musical writer. I also find religiosity a little over the top and lacking in meaning ... so children running around screaming, chasing anything worth chasing with palm leaves to the backdrop of "Blood and destruction because of one man, blood and destruction because of one man" in a pseudo-pop sensibility ... and yet, in the post-movie discussion I heard this phrase: "Celebrating the mundane".

I like that, I think I'll keep it.